Am I My Brother’s Keeper?

This is a departure for me, but I with all the talk about healthcare reform and all the rumors, lies, and confusion out there, I felt I could get away from programming for a bit to talk about this most important issue. I hope you’ll bear with me.

I continue to be amazed by those, particularly on the right. You know who I’m talking about. Most of them call themselves Christians. They rail against healthcare reform saying it’s too expensive or that they shouldn’t have to pay for those unfortunate enough to not have coverage. People, we are our brothers’/sisters’ keepers. If we don’t invest in them, who will? Remember the first Christians lived a communal life. We read in Acts 4:32-37 that they sold their possessions and share the proceeds so that no one among them was wanting for anything. I for one believe that in the greatest country in the world, with all our advances and resources, every American, even the least among us, is entitled to basic healthcare at the very least. We don’t get ahead at the expense of others. We move forward together or not at all. If we don’t invest in our own people, we have wasted our most precious resource. Reform will cost money, a lot of it. There’s no doubt about that. But I believe it is money well spent. I am fortunate enough to have health insurance that provides for me and my family. I don’t worry when my child gets sick or if I should suddenly develop a heart condition. I have absolutely no problem paying more in taxes, whatever the cost, so that the uninsured may have the same peace of mind. I do however worry that if I should become too sick, that my insurance provider could simply drop me, making care much more difficult to get. Again I have no problem paying more, whatever the cost, if it takes that worry away. People need to get over themselves. Our taxes go for programs and purposes we disagree with every single day. That will never stop. I think we can all agree that it is absolutely ridiculous that the greatest country on earth can’t be a leader in healthcare even though we have the most advanced medical technology and pharmaceutical research, the best medicines and doctors. It’s time we start acting like the leader that we are.